Hi one and all,

I have browsed through this website and honestly find genuine answers to good questions. I am hoping I too can get some guidance in this forum.

A quick introduction first. I am an Electrical Engineer. Indian by origin but living with my wife and working in the UK for the past 3 years. In total, I have 5 plus years experience as a J2EE Design Architect, Systems/Business Analyst and most importantly, client management and technical coordination between geographically dispersed teams in Europe and India.

We have now decided it is time for me to pursue my MBA and we would love to settle down and make Australia our home. Given my experience and interests, could I know the top few colleges I could apply for the MBA degree?
Also, for specialization, I would like to do either IT Management or Marketing.

The best part is that we do qualify for a PR straight away but I would prefer to do my MBA and then work and live there.
I request members with a similar experience as mine to throw some light on the matter. We would invest most of our savings to do the MBA and settle down there. I will not be answering GMAT so MBS and AGSM colleges are out.
Which city should I opt for studying in because I am concerned about my wife and opportunities post graduation.
Also, with my 5 plus years experience I want to chose a college that is well reputed for jobs within Australia and help us in our wish on settling here for good. If required, only I will come down to pursue the MBA and my wife will follow later. Of course, I do hope the job scenario is good for experienced candidates

Any advice would really be appreciated. Many thanks in advance
Regards
Ken and Karen

MBAs used to be popular, but I really wonder if having an MBA will get you a better job or better pay. I would really think about what your goals are and even try to get some professional career guidance.

It sounds like you already have good, practical experience and educational background. An MBA might be useful in a consulting company like KPMG, but I wonder if it would help if you are in charge of an outsourcing project at Telstra? Often when you have useful, technical skills that actually benefit a company it can be difficult to move up, as it can be difficult to fill your position with a suitably qualified candidate.

If I was you, I would try to find a job in Australia and then assess the situation. Some big companies/organizations will even support you in pursuing further studies.

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Thank you for the reply.
Well I pretty much know what we ( my wife and I ) want to do.
We would like to settle down in Australia, plain and simple. We have spent many years in Kuwait, India and now UK and have decided to make Aus my final destination. And we would prefer doing this before we start a family :-)
Further, I have always wanted to do my Master's and did not want to do so without prior expereince. Now, with 5 years under my belt I feel the time is right.
What you said makes sense, is MBA an option for me? Well I did do some research and MS in IT Systems makes much more sense given my background.
Being an Indian, I have see scores of student who just graduate and take up MS and MBAs in Oz. Is it sensible?No way. Having a degree is not a virtual ticket to a great job. These students finally come back home and compaines in India, are not fooled by thier shiny MS/MBAs and lack of expereince. So the general feel is Aus studies are not worth it.

Now, we do not fall in the above category. Karen, my wife, is an interior designer, and without boasting, I am good at what I do and excel in Communications and Client Management. So we are optimistic of our chances in Aus after studies.

Would you recommened a person with my profile to do my MS in IT or related field and decide to make Aus his home? Given that he and his wife want to settle there and are putting most of their savings into this big move down under?An immediate PR which would take 15 odd months is not an option mainly because I want to study and time is running out.

Many thanks
Ken

It seems like you have thought this through, if you are going to do a masters, it could be an ideal time to do it.

So are you going to go for an MBA or Masters in Info Sys? Choosing the best university/college is also going to be daunting.

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Mike,
I am still searching for colleges considered good locally. Since we are only interested in settling in Australia, I want to study in a college that is considered good within Australia itself. Thats not easy for me sitting in the UK.
If you have any info on this or links to gather this info it would be great.
Now MBA or Masters in IT is another story. MBA is my dream but way over my budget and time. We may need to wait for a year or so to do an MBA in UTS. Plus UTS MBA is for 2 years now!
Quicker would be to do Masters in Business Management or IT, the course is usually 1 year, course fees fit the bill but I give up my dream MBA :-)

So many obstacles, but need to cross them one by one. Any help at this point would make a big difference.

Thanks
Ken

This site might be helpful: Welcome to The Good Universities Guide! | The Good Universities Guide

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Thanks once again Mike.
I will go thru the website later this evening. Another very important question I need clarification on.
International students only get an 18 month WP if they do a course for 2 years or complete a 2 year course in 16 or 18 months. I think the course should have a total of 120 credit points.
Now, if I do come over and do a reputed 1 year MS or MBA, do you think employers would look twice at my profile? From all the threads in various forums I have been going through, companies dont bat an eye lid if you dont have the permission to work and dont ever go the extra mile to sponsor a WP.
If this is so, my plans of a year long course is pretty much down the drain now :-(

Any info on this?
Ken

Ken

Employers are generally relunctant to sponsor foreigners for a work visa. However it's not impossible to find an employer willing to jump through the hoops if a good candidate comes along.

Have you considered doing a 2-year course that will allow you to qualify for onshore permanent residence upon graduation? This will eliminate the need for any work visas upon graduation. Of course, this is based on today's rules and things may change in the future.

The Group of 8 Home - Group of Eight is a loose grouping of the eight supposedly top universities in Australia.

Regards
Peter

Some immigration issues have been brought into the thread and with ptlaps alluding to the interconnection between education and immigration, ie.Just to clarify if you can ptlaps, my understanding is that whilst a two year study can be used in lieu of 12 months appropriate recent experience as a basic no points condition of a skilled immigration application, a points test is still applicable and there is no automatic flow on from a student visa to PR .

And Ken, as to
, No idea what forums you're talking of, who with what qualifications or experience has posted about what companies but would your own intelligence not tell you that it is something you ought to check out yourself with companies you may feel could be the market for your intentions.

I know what I would do with such information and you can always run a check by asking at the said forum of the said poster(s) for specific support of such claims (if you really want to).

As to selecting your best path, maybe you should make use of the CPN or flow chart approach in identifying what are the events/obstacles to be connected.

Peter, re Are you having a few each way bets on the Cup? but re employment sponsorship, have you had contact with any employers, got anything specific you can support that with? - the employer sponsored visa457 being fairly large in numbers is it not and I made contact with one of Australias larger companies just recently and their approach generally is that overseas applicants apply and if it is a tight market locally, an overseas potential employee interests them, then if an offer is made, the company will organise the 457 process.

A company I worked for once, employed a couple of people from overseas. One case it was a inter-office transfer. In another case, a young guy wanted to move to Australia from Israel and he some knowledge of our company's products, as he had experience working in a company that our company had taken over.

He didn't have a lot of experience, so our company wasn't going to offer him an expat deal. Our boss, said if he came to Australia on his own volition they would interview him for a job, but there would be no guarantees.

He was chasing his old girl friend and he came over. Fortunately for him, he got the job. My boss would have just left immigration/visa issues to HR, like I think most managers would.

There are costs with employing anyone whether local or overseas. If a company uses a recruiting company, the fees are quite high. If we introduced someone to the company we got a $3000 bonus, which was still a big saving I believe over using a recruiting agency.

I think companies anywhere are unlikely to employ someone without seeing them in person. I was once employed by a small company in Japan, just with a telephone interview. Had I have actually met my employer in person and seen the company's office, I doubt that I would have accepted the position. So it can work both ways.

It is my feeling that you are more likely to get sponsorship, the more technical in nature your skills or experience are. General management/sales/marketing positions are more than likely to be taken by local employees. I think this would apply anywhere in the world. Except for maybe the hotel industry.

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